An Abuja-based NGO, Save Our Heritage Initiative (SOHI) on Wednesday urged parents to see the ongoing lockdown as an opportunity to inculcate values of culture, discipline and hard work in their children.
Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, May Ikokwu, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Ikokwu said that the country’s various cultures had suffered negligence because parents failed to teach their children in native language.
“A person must speak the native language to understand the culture fully, especially as our speeches are often embellished with proverbs.
“When you lose your culture, you lose your identity. Therefore, this societal ill must be redressed and the lockdown provides opportunities to start taking steps in the right direction,” she said.
Ikokwu, also the Secretary General of Coalition of Societies for the Rights of Older Persons (COSROPIN), described the lockdown as a time for parents and children to close ranks.
She noted that some children had lost good family upbringing as a result of the gap between them and their parents.
“Many children had totally gone astray because they had no chance or stay together with their parents or elders.
“This lockdown is a good opportunity for parents to correct every mistake made in the past as a result of the gap between the children and parents,” Ikokwu said.
She reiterated the need for parents to begin to direct their children on the path of morality, honesty and hard work.
She said: “Parents are encouraged to make their memorised important verses of the Bible and the Koran on forgiveness and protection known.
“The lockdown is a kind of homecoming for some children to embrace goodness, depending on the parents.’’
Ikokwu who reiterated the imperative of rescuing the children from all forms of immorality, said that it was time to put them on the path of future greatness.
“Children are our future and we must do everything in our power to make them useful to us and the society,” she said.
She expressed hope in the ability of parents to play very important roles in moulding culturally-grounded and responsible children for a secured future.